The Dominican Republic cemented a “transcendental step” in its technological evolution on Tuesday, 14 October 2025, with the signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with NVIDIA, the global leader in artificial intelligence (AI) and accelerated computing, the Abinader Presidency reports.
The strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Dominican Government and NVIDIA is designed to accelerate the country’s national AI strategy and establish a foundation for digital sovereignty in the region.
The partnership, signed at the Presidential Palace, is set to establish the Center of Excellence in Artificial Intelligence (CEIA), a dedicated hub for training, research, and innovation. In the press release announcing the new center, President Luis Abinader goes on record promising it will transform the nation into a regional leader in digital sovereignty.
President Abinader announced that the CEIA will be a vital space for students, researchers, and entrepreneurs, stating that the agreement firmly positions the Dominican Republic to lead the region.
“The CEIA will be a meeting point for the government, academia, and the private sector; a laboratory where the Dominican Republic will demonstrate that it doesn’t just consume technology, but also creates it,” the President said.
The alliance is the cornerstone of the nation’s National Artificial Intelligence Strategy, aiming to build a “sovereign digital infrastructure.” This includes a National AI Factory equipped with cutting-edge technology. The deal also commits to training over 1,000 Dominican professionals in AI by 2026 through the AI Academy/Hub DLI program.
Abinader emphasizes AI’s potential to revolutionize key public sectors. “Imagine hospitals with more precise diagnoses, cities with smoother traffic, schools where every student learns at their own pace, and a tourism sector that is more sustainable and connected to our identity,” President Abinader expressed, highlighting expected impacts on health, mobility, education, security, tourism, and finance.
He concluded his address with a bold assertion: “We are planting the roots today of an intelligent, innovative, and sovereign Dominican Republic. This is the time for Dominican intelligence and our digital sovereignty. Today, we can say that we are the first to arrive at the future.”
The MOU establishes a strategic framework that focuses on:
• Digital sovereignty: Advancing independence by locally hosting data and AI models.
• Capacity building: Strengthening digital infrastructure and fostering local talent.
• Regional hub status: Positioning the Dominican Republic as an AI and technology hub to attract investment.
• Improved quality of life: Utilizing AI solutions to optimize public services like healthcare, urban mobility, and tourism.
The agreement calls for the opening of a National AI Factory equipped with cutting-edge technology (likely NVIDIA’s DGX systems or equivalent AI supercomputing platforms, based on similar global partnerships) to handle full-stack AI workloads, from data processing to model training and deployment.
During the local presentation, Calista Redmond, Vice President of AI Nations at NVIDIA, lauded the partnership, comparing the transformative impact of AI to the advent of electricity or the automobile. She proposed an immediate focus on education and a phased expansion into public services like traffic management, affirming the AI partnership will strengthen the economy and establish the Dominican Republic as a regional benchmark for innovation.
The partnership includes a robust training component to rapidly scale the country’s AI workforce.
The program seeks to train over 1,000 Dominican professionals in AI by 2026.
This will be achieved through the AI Academy/Hub DLI (Deep Learning Institute). The NVIDIA DLI offers practical, hands-on training and certification in deep learning, accelerated computing, and data science, which is vital for building a skilled local workforce capable of maintaining the new AI infrastructure.
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Presidency
Nvidia
15 October 2025